Family Photography in the outdoors in spring time is so beautiful. Even when the family is dressed in their Sunday best, it’s still ok to have some fun.
Great to be Eight
When I look at her face I see my sister. That only makes sense because my sister is her mother, and only 18 months younger than I am. We were together throughout our entire childhoods. We shared a room, wore matching clothes, had the same hair cuts, got the same perms, got matching toys, matching dolls, even matching stuffed animals. Now as adults we only live about a mile apart. Our kids are great friends, and I love it!
This girl has a lot of the same qualities that my sister has. She's very determined, kind, loyal, and fiercely competitive. If she's running a race she's going to be faster than anyone. If she's doing her homework, it's going to be the neatest handwriting, and there will be no mistakes. When she's playing soccer, she's going to get that ball if nobody else is, and she will get it in the goal no matter who gets in her way. If she sees a friend being mistreated she will put a stop to that immediately. She protects anyone she loves. It is so much fun to see her do just about anything. I literally cannot wait to see what she does with her life.
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Like a Light
I will never forget meeting Karli for the first time just over a year ago. She and my daughter are friends at school, and were giving her a ride somewhere. When she came into the car, it was like a light switched on. She was full of energy like few people I know. She's a cheerleader and wrestler. How could you not love that combination? She talked a lot about her family. I was anxious to find out more about them. If they were anything like Karli I knew I would love them.
Her family did not disappoint me. Her mom is not only mom to 5 kids, but also a NICU nurse. Her dad -- a hard worker who is there for them all. The youngest brother? Well, he's hilarious and so cute you want to take him home with you. The oldest recently received a medal of merit for helping save lives during a drowning incident. Karli's sister is saving lives of her own as a paramedic, and wants to be a fire fighter. Her younger brother is a self taught musical genius who can play any instrument. They are an amazing group of people. I'm pleased to know them, even though it started to rain during our session together, it was anything but dreary.
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The latest from Instagram @juliegcampbell
First Birthday Cake Smash
Could she be any cuter? First birthdays are always exciting. It was so fun to help her family celebrate hers.
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The latest on Instagram. @juliegcampbell
Changes
I cannot imagine what it will be like when my oldest heads off to college. Our family will change so much. It will be so strange for me to think she's far away and I won't know what she ate for dinner or what she's wearing, or even buy her groceries. This family was just about to experience their oldest headed off to Stanford. It's all so exciting, but also life changing. This is a great time to have your family portraits done. They are all so sweet, and so full of light.
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Instagram @juliegcampbell
Don't forget about the unposed moments
Sometimes I look at the images from my sessions and image what it would be like if I had something like this from my childhood. Don't get me wrong, my parents took lots of pictures of me. There are boxes and boxes full, but it's rare to the in-between moments in our lives. The un-posed spontaneous moments are somewhat missing. I wish I had the ones of my dad throwing me up in the air, my mom hugging me after a hard day at school, or my siblings and I dressing up, playing in the backyard, or just being goofy. Those are the moments I try to get a glimpse of for my clients. Those in between moments are usually my favorite ones.
If you hire a professional photographer I urge you to try to let go of your insecurities and relax as much as you can in front of the camera. Play with your kids like you do at home. Do what you can to make them smile and laugh. Don't threaten or punish them for not smiling. That immediately sucks the fun out of the photo session, and getting those natural smiles becomes next to impossible.
When you're at home have the camera handy. Having a cell phone makes it so much easier these days. I admit to getting the camera first when I catch my kids writing all over their bodies, or cutting their hair off in big jagged pieces. I clean up later. I take pictures of their injuries, or the silly outfits they dress up in. Those pictures in our scrapbooks are my children's favorites. They laugh and laugh about the silly things they have done. It's so true that a picture is worth a thousand words.
